The global foiling industry will gather in Genoa this week (March 17th and 18th) for the third edition of the World Foiling Congress, the global summit where leaders of the foiling ecosystem meet to discuss technology, applications and regulation in this rapidly evolving sector.
World Foiling Congress 2025 – © Martina Orsini | We Are Foiling Media
Presented by Ropner Insurance, the Congress returns to the Magazzini del Cotone in Genoa with an expanded two-day format, reinforcing its role as a key meeting point for professionals involved in high-performance waterborne mobility.
Organised by The Foiling Organization, the 2026 edition will feature 10 panels and more than 30 leading experts from industry, engineering and design, research institutions and regulatory bodies. Discussions will focus on the state of the art in hydrofoil technology, emerging professional applications and certification frameworks designed to enable safe and scalable adoption across multiple sectors.
Since 2024, the Congress continues to develop as a platform for international coordination, contributing to the definition of shared guidelines and industry standards in dialogue with major global regulatory and classification organisations.
World Foiling Congress 2025 – © Martina Orsini | We Are Foiling Media
The opening session, “Gitana 18: A New Era in Offshore Sailing,” will be delivered by Charles Caudrelier, winner of the 2022 Route du Rhum, where he set a new race record of 6 days, 19 hours, 47 minutes and 25 seconds aboard the foiling Ultim trimaran Maxi Edmond de Rothschild (Gitana 17). Caudrelier will be supported by Pierre Tissier, Technical Director of the Gitana Team. They will examine the technological and design breakthroughs shaping the next generation of offshore foiling yachts. Gitana 18 is also among the Nominees in the One-Off Sailing or Powered Yacht category at the Foiling Awards IX, taking place the same evening, when Congress delegates, nominees, partners, journalists and guests will attend the Foiling Awards IX ceremony, celebrating individuals and innovations shaping the future of foiling.
Alongside the thirteen award categories and the Forlanini Award, assigned to the winner of the winners, the 2026 edition introduces the Future Impact Award. Assigned by an international panel of sailing and nautic journalists, it will recognise the one among the 104 projects selected for the IX edition that most clearly signals where foiling is heading next, the project, person, event or technology most likely to shape the following years through scalability, adoption and influence.
By bringing together industry leaders, engineers, regulators and innovators, the World Foiling Congress confirms its position as a key event for professionals working across leisure, sport, commercial and Naval foiling applications.
Professionals interested in attending the World Foiling Congress may submit their application at: https://pci.jotform.com/form/260362553825357
Panels
Tuesday 17th – Morning sessions
- Gitana 18: A New Era in Offshore Sailing
- Simulation & Machine Learning: Designing the Next Leap
- Academy for Industrial Applications: Federico II Aerospace Technologies and Materials for America’s Cup Performances
- Mechatronics & Flight Controls: From Sensors to Stability
Tuesday 17th – Afternoon sessions
- The Journal of Sailing Technology: Hydrofoils 2026 Special Edition Launch
- Naval Operations: Foiling as a Capability
- Cities & Lakes: Building Foiling Ecosystems
- Foiling Ferries: First Cases, Real Lessons
Wednesday 18th – Morning sessions
- Certification Next: Standards, Safety & Scale
- E-Foiling Certification: Safety, Training, Liability
- The Joint Industry Project: Standards, Data, Deliverables
Speakers
- Jacob Algurén-Laager – Ride Awake ApS
- Marco Antonucci – Carl ZEISS
- Nicolas Bailey Noval – Takeoff Technologies
- Domenico Brigante – Olympus SRL
- Gianni Cariboni – Cariboni SRL
- James Dadd – Persico Marine SRL
- Gabriele De Mattia – Candela Technology AB
- Francesco Di Caprio – CIRA scpa
- Manuel Fraga Seoane – Foilchemy
- Diego Garcia – Foilchemy
- Adam Greene – HPiVS
- Ulrich Heinemann – Heinemann Yacht Assessment
- Patrick Hemp – ICOMIA
- Karsten Hochkirch – DNV SE
- Francis Hueber – Caponnetto Hueber
- Julian Jesson – Ropner Insurance
- Nicklas Jonsson – Candela Technology AB
- Valentina Lopresto – Università di Napoli Federico II
- Paolo Mazzucchelli – Navigazione Laghi Maggiore, Garda e Como
- Joseph Ozanne – Simulator in Motion
- Ilaria Papa – Università di Napoli Federico II
- Simonetta Pegorari – Studio Pegorari
- Greta Eline Poclen – The Foiling Organization
- Luca Rizzotti – The Foiling Organization
- Klaus Röder – Carpe Diem Yacht Design
- Hugues Salamin – MobyFly SA
- Alberto Sonino – Vento di Venezia
- Antonino Squillace – Italian Manufacturing Association
- Josh Trout – Vessev
- Jaume Triay – Takeoff Technologies
- Massimo Verme – GerrisBoats
World Foiling Congress 2026 is made possible thanks to the support of: ROPNER | REGIONE LIGURIA | LA MIA LIGURIA | PORTO ANTICO DI GENOVA | CARIBONI | GARMIN | GOTTIFREDI MAFFIOLI | PERSICO MARINE | HPi VERIFICATION SERVICES | CARPE DIEM YACHT DESIGN | HEINEMANN YACHT ASSESSMENT | CONFINDUSTRIA NAUTICA | EBI – EUROPEAN BOATING INDUSTRY | ICOMIA
For more information, visit foiling.org
